Research
Surveying Queensland’s Limited Legislation and Policies for Primary School Students with a Disability
by Melissa Wilkie-Pollard
Introduction
This report examines the limitations of the Disability Discrimination Act (1992), Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Queensland Department of Education’s Inclusive Education Policy (2021) in relation to the provision of services for primary school students with a disability.
It focuses on the difficulties in achieving equitable education due to various factors: the breakdown in collaboration between schools and external allied health professionals, high service demands, limited availability of health professionals, and communication issues between parties.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) ensures that a person with a disability has the same opportunities as those without a disability. It protects a person with a disability from being mistreated.
The Disability Standards for Education (2005) clarifies the responsibilities of schools and the rights of people with a disability under the 1992 Act. The Inclusive Education Policy, introduced in 2021, provides guidelines on reasonable adjustment processes so students can access and participate in learning alongside their peers (United Nations, 2016).
This report draws on the lived experiences and insights of a parent who has a child with a disability in the local state primary school. It argues that inadequate communication between the school and external allied health professionals directly affects the child’s rights to access educational opportunities (Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia, 2014).To bridge the gap between policy and practice, this report recommends best practice guidelines. These guidelines would be a framework for a new guidance officer to ensure that the student and the parent/guardian can access education free from discrimination and prejudice. Guidance officers are responsible for delivering comprehensive student support programs that adapt to students' identified and evolving needs (Department of Education, 2025).
Their role involves collaborating as part of a multidisciplinary team to establish effective relationships with parents, school staff, and external support agencies, ensuring comprehensive support that enhances students’ access to and engagement in educational programs.
Problem statement
The DDA and the Inclusive Education Policy describe a “whole of school” approach alongside community collaboration to prevent inequality and discrimination of students with disabilities in mainstream schools.
The DDA is intended to protect students with disabilities from discrimination by supporting educational access, educational opportunities, social well-being, and reasonable adjustments. It fails to account for the shortcomings of an already overburdened system, the communication breakdown between allied health professionals and the school, and the lack of collaboration with the student and their parent/guardian to determine the necessary level of support (Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia, 2014).
Causes of an overloaded system include pressures of large classroom sizes, limited availability of allied health professionals, funding constraints, and the number of students with additional support needs exceeding resource availability (Mavromaras et al., 2018).
If effective collaboration does not occur between the school community and allied health professionals, then the education system may be at risk of using a “blanket approach” technique in determining the needs of a student with disabilities. (Borthwick-Duffy et al., n.d.). Blanket approaches to interventions disadvantage students with disabilities, as they lack individualisation and overlook a student’s strengths and interests (Roy, 2016).
Inadequate resources could prevent a student with disabilities from having the educational opportunities they are entitled to (Snelling, 2003). When conditions limit the students’ access to class, it limits their chance to participate in education, thus discriminating against the student “by denying student access to any benefit provided by the educational authority” (Australia et al., 1992) (Australia et al., 1992) which is the treatment the DDA has been formulated to prevent.
Analysis
Concerning providing services for students with disabilities, the Queensland Education Department is required to abide by the DDA, the 2005 education standards mentioned above, and the inclusive education policy. These policies can be confusing and often overly theoretical, and as a result, dysfunctional for families and education providers who lack practical and detailed knowledge of what students with disabilities require in mainstream education (Department of Education, 2020).
Discrepancies exist between legislation and what happens in practice, as consultation failures and collaborative breakdowns result in students not receiving adequate support to participate in education. The Australian Human Rights Commission states: “the need for collaborative service provision is great in supporting students with a disability. The needed coordination between education, health, and community services is disorganised or non-existent” (2012, p.1).
One such discrepancy is the lack of consultation between external allied health professionals, the school community, and the student and their family. The disability standards state that parent/guardian-school partnerships give students with a disability the best chance to achieve their potential. For this to happen, consultation needs to occur “to understand the impact of a student’s disability and to determine whether adjustments or changes are needed to assist the student” (2005, p. 2).
Case study
A statement from Alisha*, a mother of an autistic student (Jacob*) with sensory processing issues and anxiety disorder, confirms that standards are not being adhered to. Alisha explained that the school’s Special Education Program unit does not implement suggestions made by external allied health professionals. “It was like they have been doing the same thing for years and do not want to learn new strategies,” she said. This “blanket approach” relies on categories, labels, and generalisations in providing interventions to students (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2014). A much more effective approach is laid out by Mallory & Keehn (2021) which states: having targeted interventions to support students with ASD helps to overcome sensory and attention difficulties, thereby enabling them to reach their true academic potential. A blanket approach supports generalised interventions, regardless of assessments, which risks overlooking individual strengths and needs.
Alisha’s statement shows that collaborations are not working, despite the Disability Standards for Education stating that all members of the multidisciplinary team (allied health professionals) have a role in making collaborations work. This raises the question of accountability when collaborations and associated interventions are not working properly. Students and the parent/guardian can’t easily change allotted allied health professionals due to their scarce supply, limited access, and long waiting lists (Snelling 2003, 2).
Alisha talked about another discrepancy in reasonable adjustments between the school and Jacob’s external behavioural management specialist, Renata*. Alisha explained Jacob’s anxiety would rise every time they walked into the school grounds, saying “the longer we hung around, it would prolong and heighten his anxiety”. Renata suggested Jacob’s support worker could meet Alisha and Jacob at the back gate each morning to lessen his anxiety. The request was denied after the school’s Special Education Program Unit raised the possibility of Jacob getting upset, which would be perceived negatively by passers-by and reflect upon the school.
The need identified for Jacob was rejected without providing a reasonable alternative, which violates section 5 of the DDA: “to prevent a student being treated less favourably, by making reasonable adjustments” (1992, p.9). Reasonable adjustments can help reduce the student’s stress and anxiety in the classroom environment. Therefore, limiting the student’s chance to access and participate in a “high-quality education and fully engage in the curriculum alongside their similarly aged peers” (Queensland Department of Education, 2021).
In navigating the gaps between policy and practice, the guidance officer, responsible for collaborating as a member of a multidisciplinary team, may be the most suitable person to act as the liaison between the school community, external allied health professionals, and the student/family Guidance officers follow the Queensland Guidance and Counselling Association’s (QGCA) Code of Conduct when striving to “develop harmonious and cooperative working relationships with colleagues, school staff, parents and students”. They recognise the need to work as a member of a team within schools, other organisations, and communities (Queensland Guidance Counselling Association, 2021).
Guidelines for Guidance Officers/Counsellors
- Partnerships with parents: The new guidance officer may need to improve communication with the student, parent/guardian, and the school to foster positive and productive relationships. The most common complaint by families is that they lack information about available support, funding options, and what help is available from their chosen school (Queensland Department of Education, 2020).
The student and their family need to feel confident that the new guidance officer will explain processes, provide information, and advocate on their behalf. The Department of Education’s Parent and Community Engagement Framework (2017) provides suggestions for guidance officers when working with parents and guardians. The focus is on improving communication, understanding roles, developing collaborative goals, and discussing transitions and ways parents can help. - Community Collaboration: The new guidance officer can act as a facilitator between the school, external allied health professionals, and the student/family when providing services. The Department of Education, Skills and Employment recognises the importance of working together to provide services that support students with a disability. The recent review highlights power imbalances as a root cause of consultation breakdowns between providers, students, and their families. Parents and carers reported that, without collaboration and consultation, many schools and external providers make poor adjustments (Queensland Department of Education, 2020).
The feedback from parents/guardians shows feeling anxious or disempowered when challenging the professional advice of teachers, learning support staff, or allied health professionals, when asking for adjustments to support their child (Kendrick, 2013). The guidance officer could support the parent or guardian in advocating for their child, explaining roles and responsibilities of allied health professionals to school staff and parents, assist in the sharing of information, and collaboratively design reasonable adjustments strategies (Department of Education, 2017). - Capacity building for staff: The guidance officer could deliver professional development to school staff by offering disability awareness training, interpersonal and communication skills, relevant hotline numbers, and updates on disability policies and procedures.
The NSW Auditor-General’s 2016 report suggested teachers needed more guidance on reasonable adjustments, more training on the disability standards, and a review process on “how schools support the behavioural needs of students with a disability” (Roy, 2016, p.2). - Joint support planning, coordination, and review: the guidance officer, with the Special Education Program staff, allied health professionals, and parent/guardian could develop a plan for supporting the student.
The Department of Education Queensland, currently uses Individual Education Plans (IEP) to design adaptations and strategies to aid the student in reaching individual goals. Parents can be left out of these conversations as they don’t know what their child needs or what supports are available to their child (Kendrick, 2013). - Represent the school by becoming an active member of the local area networks. Local area networks include cross-sector multidisciplinary representation that comes together to develop solutions to bigger issues, such as system overload or a lack of coordination of support services.
- Prepare a formal submission on behalf of the school: Schools often engage in various formal reviews or inquiries as a means of advocacy, in collaboration with the guidance officer.
In conclusion
Government disability policies and standards are often overly bureaucratic and don’t focus sufficiently on the practical viability of interventions, as demonstrated in disability policies and legislation.
These policies and standards don’t account for the constraints parents/guardians already face in managing the needs of a child with a disability. Parents, guardians, teachers, and the entire system show signs of overload. In particular, the limited number of allied health professionals available to meet the needs of students with disabilities is acute. Further limitations impact on providing services, from breakdowns in partnerships due to high workloads, demanding curriculum, communication failures, personal issues, and supply problems.
Changes need to occur at the operational level for students with disabilities to access educational opportunities free of discrimination and prejudice. Alternatives need to be provided for when the system is overloaded and students and families can’t get the support they require. The role of the Guidance Officer can provide critical support needed to navigate the gaps in service provision and delivery, and provide an authoritative voice in advocating for students and their families.
*names have been changed to protect identity of client
Biography
Melissa Wilkie-Pollard is a qualified Social Worker and Counsellor with over 20 years experience in health, community, child protection, disability, and educational settings. She completed a Bachelor of Social Work at the University of Queensland in 2000 and Masters in Guidance and Counselling at James Cook University in 2024. During that time she completed a bridging course in cognitive behavioural therapy through Macquarie University.